Despite all these rules and our rejection of the phenomenon, we see children with skinny bodies, pale faces and feeble smiles everyday, selling things at traffic lights, popular markets and places for renewal of vehicle registration. We find children between seven and 12 years working as porters in vegetable markets, while others of the same age are playing, wearing beautiful clothes and eating the best food.

Chairman of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Muflih bin Rabeeaan Al-Qahtani said that the Kingdom’s labor laws prevented the employment of children by the public and private sector, and added that these laws allow the training of children only when they reach a certain age. He said that work for children, whether difficult or easy, is “totally forbidden.”

The chairman pointed out that Article 162 of the labor law prevented the employment of children under 15 years of age, and made clear controls for the employment of children between 15 and 18 years to protect them from exploitation and other job hazards.

The laws of the ILO and the Ministry of Labor are further confirmed by the HRC, but, sadly, the reality is a different matter. Despite the inspection tours of Labor Ministry officials, the phenomenon is still widespread. Just visit the Atiqah market in the center of Riyadh, and you will see seven- and eight-year-old children working under the scorching sun with temperatures of 50 degrees, pulling carts loaded with vegetables and fruits. They work at least six hours a day, pushing trolleys that are too heavy for them. We are killing their innocence and depriving them of their childhood. It is the responsibility of every one of us to put an end to this unacceptable phenomenon.